Bellator 83's Rad Martinez is a grinder – and not afraid to admit it

Bellator 83's Rad Martinez is a grinder – and not afraid to admit it

Rad Martinez didn’t like it when his brother told him Mike Richman had been eliminated from the Bellator Season 7 featherweight tournament.

Despite his best efforts not to watch his prospective opponent’s fights, keep tabs on them online or indulge himself in playing fantasy matchmaker, Martinez repeatedly had been told by interviewers that Richman was the favorite to win the eight-man competition.

As he advanced through tough fights with Nazareno Malegarie and Wagnney Fabiano in the tourney’s opening round and semifinals, he tried to ignore these types of statements. Hearing about the alleged favorite from a relative, who also manages him, further hindered his goal of keeping blinders on.

Martinez wants to come into every fight with a fresh set of eyes, so he’s not forming opinions of opponents who might have other plans.

Martinez, though, can no longer ignore the future that awaits him. It’s not Richman he’ll face in the finals of the tournament, which take place at Bellator 83, but Shahbulat Shamhalaev, who upset the field with a first-round KO of Richman in the semifinals.

In the weeks since he outpointed Fabiano in the semifinals, and as a grueling three-month fight camp winds down, Martinez said he’s immersed himself in studying for his Russian opponent. They meet Dec. 7 at Caesars Atlantic City in New Jersey. The fight, which is one of three-main card bouts, airs live on MTV2 following prelims on Spike.com.

What Martinez (14-2 MMA, 4-0 BFC) and everyone else can see right away is that Shamhalaev (11-1-1 MMA, 2-0 BFC) has stopped both of his opponents on the way to the finals. One of several imports from Russia, the fighter quickly has established himself as more than just a guy with a tongue-tying last name. Before stopping Richman, who previously had won four straight bouts with back-to-back KOs, he had delivered a first-round KO of Cody Bollinger, who hadn’t lost a fight on paper in six previous bouts.

Martinez, on the other hand, has grinded out decisions against Malegarie and Fabiano. Such a difference would suggest that he is coming into the bout at a disadvantage, having twice fought 15 minutes as opposed to the sub-five-minute jaunts of his opponent. The tougher road might also suggest he’s the underdog.

Martinez, however, doesn’t give much meaning to the different paths they’ve walked other than that he’s always been a guy that’s taken a bit longer to do his work.

“That’s the way it was in college wrestling,” he said. “I wasn’t a pinner. I would grind it out and beat you on points. It turns out that’s the way I am in fighting, too. I’m not afraid to admit that.”

Wrestling could play a pivotal role in the fight. Martinez’s grappling served him well in avoiding the submissions of Fabiano and helped him take down Malegarie. Shamhalaev, a former muay Thai and Sanshou champ, has won the bulk of his fights with his fists.

Martinez said if Shamhalaev gives him the opportunity to finish the fight, there’s no person at Caesar’s that will be happier. Martinez wants to earn stoppage wins. He wants to earn a title shot at featherweight champ Pat Curran.

He also wants to win the $100,000 check that comes with winning the competition. The money will go toward his wedding, which is scheduled for Aug. 17, and toward better medical equipment for his duties as the full-time caretaker of his father, who lives with a traumatic brain injury suffered in a car accident.

The rest will go toward improvements on the home he shares with his wife-to-be and father. Anything that hurts his chances of losing that, he’s against.

The wool over his eyes might have been prematurely pulled back, but that’s something he’ll have to get used to as a famous mixed martial artist. Nothing stays secret. No matter what anyone says, you keep your own blinders on.